Western appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1885-18??, 1887-10-22
THE SICK HORSE WON.
Long Haired Nebraskan's Instruct
Experience with Two Strangers.

a Long-H Nebraskan's Instructive
Experience with Two Strangers.
Say" said a long haired manwear-
ing one boot aad one shoe as he app
preached the wagon while we were
camped on the edge of Sidney, Neb.,
"you fellers amt got no runnin' stock
with you, reckon?''
mo-
u lowed they didn't look that way.
But. then, you can't tell nothin' by
looks. Hoses, and here he made a
long pause and appeared to be count
ing the spokes in the wheel; chooses is
peculiar critters
'.How's thatP''
wy, bout a month ago Just such a
lookin' crowd as you be come along
with couple of old bosses an COW
cred wagon. You know. Bill Simmons
has got a runnin' boss. Well, Bill hap
pened to mosey round where they was
camped. an he looks at their poorest
boss an kinder grins inwardly an
Keeps down laugh by tryin' mighty
hard, an says he: Stranger, that air
boss O your'n looks s if he might have
some speed in himp' .Ya-es,' says the
man, sorter sleepy and careless like;
he runs some.' 'Y' ever. put him on
the track?' asks Bill. Sometimes,
though he's gettin' pretty DID, says
the man. Would you mind havin' a
little race with an old horse o. minep'
goes on Bill. I'm .greeable, says the
man. So they went over to the track,
an all the rest of us went long, o.
course. Bills boss come on SO he
couldn't hardly hold him, head up an
mouth open. The strange boss looked
kinder sneakin' an stood round with
one for ard leg bent am it's head down
eatin' grass. / knowed Bills boss was
goin' to beat, an most everybody else
did. We bet all we could, though
there want nobody to bet with 'cept
the strangers partner, an he didn't
seem overly N above anxious, though
he did take few bets an kinder polo
gized by sayin' their old boss could
run once, though it was hard to tell
what he would do that day. I'm darned
II he wasn't right, too"
How was he rightp'
IVY, it was hard to tell what he
would do that day. Old Captain Bings-
ley started 'em, an Bills boss led right
of. The stranger pounded way on the
ribs o. his'n, but he couldn't git no
motion onto him. Bill came in way
ahead, an I'm a liar if we didn't see
the strange boss nippin' at the grass
long the track as he come down the
home-stretch.
'Well, the stranger looked gloomy,
an set on his boss an let him eat
tween the heats-it as to be the best
two in three. But his partner, who
was doing the bettin', acted sight
different. He got hoppin' mad, an
said he'd bet anyhow if he did lose.
We heered the man what rode the boss
tellin' him not to do it, cos Bills boss
were better than they thought, but he
said he didn't give durn, he'd bet
anyhow. So we all bet with him, givin'
him big odds, so his money would 90
furder an we all could have q whack at
it. But he 'peared to have an uncom-
mon pile of it. an KEEP pullin' it out
an takin' ev'ry bet offered. TIL be
snaked if he didn't have more n
the whole crowd. After awhile they
got ready to start again. The
stranger hadn't been off his boss at
all. but had set there chewin' terbacker
an lookin' sick. got ten dollars more
to bet on our hoss,' says the man, but
nobody had another cent. Jcs' then
they started; same old story-Bill's boss
takin' long jumps an the other kinder
bobbin' up'n' down an actin's if it
hurt him. I'll bet you my watch agin
yer ten dollars, saysI. Shove herup, ,
says he. I turned round an done so
an looked back jes' in time to see the
stranger kinder lean over and whoop
at his boss bout the time they was half
way round the track, an I'll be gol
burned if ever seed any thing like it
in my born days. Run! Great Jump
in Jupiter! Run amt no name for it.
That boss jes' bumped down his back
and reached out an doubled up. an
reached out an doubled up! Bill said
afterwards that he didn' know nothin,
bout when he passed him an s'posed
all the time he was ahead till he met
the other comm back jes' fore he
went under the wire! Fact. I tell
you! They rested awhile an then run
the other heat. This time the strange
boss jes' went off in what 'peared to
be an easy gallop, an KEEP bout a rod
ahead o Bill all the way, throwin' dust
in his face an 'casionally kickin' back
at him kinder funny like. But, YOU
bet, we didn't see nothin' funny bout
it. We was the sickest crowd you ever
seen. Ev'ry cent gone an circus
comm in bout a week! An one of
'em had my watch swellin' round with
it stickin' in his bootleg! Sick! Well,
stranger, we was too sick to stick out
our tongues! Them fellers hooked
right up an pulled out O. town with
that cussed runnin' boss droopin' down
his head an nippin' at the fre-weed
long the side o'the road. They didn't
git none too soon, neither; we was ies'
goin' over to lynch 'em. That's why I
came over to ask you fellers bout this
bus'nc The boys said they would git
the rope ready while I came over, an
if you said you had a boss that want
no runner, but still you would run it,
WY we lowed we'd string you up over
on that big tree with the crooked limb.
It pears that the best time fer such
kind O. exercises is fore the race an